


Masks

by misura



Category: Dragaera - Steven Brust
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-30
Updated: 2006-12-30
Packaged: 2017-11-05 15:46:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/408175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kiera the Thief guests briefly at Castle Black.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Masks

Teldra _knows_ the first time Kiera pays a visit to Castle Black - by appearing at the front-door, that is, not by slipping past Morrolan's better-than-average detection spells to add a certain rare volume to his library, one he'd never accept as a gift from Sethra, knowing there are only three copies of it still around, or to borrow a novel of pulp-fiction from Aliera's, which Sethra'd be too embarrassed to ask for outright. Kiera's not sure how she sees it, what makes her so sure that Teldra has seen right through her disguise, her slightly accented Jhereg-talk, using words and expressions that would never pass Sethra's lips, but when Teldra bows and bids her welcome, Kiera knows she _knows_.

It's the first time anyone's managed to surprise Kiera. She's a good enough thief (the best, after all) not to let it show, informing Teldra she'd like to see Morrolan with all the arrogance of a Jhereg (secure in the knowledge that everyone in this world has something to hide and can be bribed or blackmailed) about a certain matter she's not going to discuss with 'just' his seneschal. (She'd almost have left out that last part, because it's a little insulting, but she doesn't think Kiera'd mind that, so she hopes Teldra's going to accept it as part of her role.)

Teldra's answering smile might hint at amusement - at this upstart Jhereg, the casual observer will assume, although Kiera knows better. She shows Kiera to the part of the library where Morrolan keeps his books about poisons and other related subjects - the Jhereg-section, in other words, although Vlad's argued that poisons are also part of witchcraft, and that it's a bit of an insult for Morrolan to put them together with books about drugs and assassinations.

Sethra remembers Morrolan's response to that, but Kiera does not. In fact, Kiera doesn't even know about Vlad's comment at all, and the fact that she seems to do means Teldra's unsettled her more than she should have, and more than Teldra intended to do. After all, Teldra could simply have asked Kiera (or would she be addressing Sethra in that case?) to drop the disguise. Teldra's loyalty lies with Morrolan, not with Sethra, or even with the Empire, which Sethra might claim to be trying to protect.

After half an hour, refreshments have not yet been brought, and neither has Morrolan appeared. Kiera's beginning to get a little impatient, a little worried, too, although if this delay is due to Teldra having told Morrolan who his visitor really is, she'd have expected him to show up sooner, instead of making her wait the way any Dragonlord would, when dealing with a Jhereg-visitor. She wonders if Vlad knows how lucky he is, how extraordinary Morrolan is for treating him, not just like a human, but as a near-equal. Probably not, she decides. Vlad has a habit of not noticing things that don't fit in with the way he imagines the world to be. Lucky for Kiera, most people are like Vlad.

Lucky for Kiera isn't the same as lucky for Sethra, though. She doesn't particularly want Vlad to find out about Kiera and Sethra, but there are other things he might have picked up on by now, things she can't tell him as Kiera (because what would Kiera know or care about past lives and reincarnated souls?) or as Sethra (because Vlad still sees Sethra as someone who likes to pull people's strings, which is essentially correct, but not entirely). She's arranged for him to meet Morrolan - and the memory of her promise about killing Morrolan if he'd have caused Vlad's death makes her smile. She's arranged for him to meet Aliera (if 'meeting' is the right word). She's even, as Kiera, not Sethra, arranged for him to meet Kragar. Plus, of course, she's arranged for him to meet _her_ , the Enchantress of Dzur Mountain, the legendary Sethra Lavode.

He was as unimpressed as Kiera'd expected (hoped) for him to be. That, in itself, was not a disappointment. His lack of doing anything with all the resources, all that knowledge she placed within his reach _was_. He's still only an Easterner and a Jhereg Baronet, and of course, Kiera's partially to blame for that last, but it seemed a good idea to get him into _some_ House at the time. Kiera still thinks that was a good idea, one of her better ones. Vlad would not have been a good Teckla - and he'd have been useless to her if he'd become one. Thus, the Jhereg. To learn how to fight sneaky, when fighting fairly will get you killed. To be taught how to make mistakes, and correct them. To get used to responsibility and organizing others. To meet new, interesting people, like Daymar and Kragar and Morrolan and the future Empress. To grow and, eventually, outgrow the most underestimated House of the Empire, the one important enough for Sethra to want to have a permanent agent in it.

Bored and in need of something to distract her, something to remind her who she is, Kiera browses the bookshelves, careful not to touch any of the books. She knows Morrolan has a reputation for loving his books far more than his guests, and the protection-spells he's put on the first. The latter get a warning, along the lines of 'harm my books and I'll (probably) have you revivified before I politely kick you out of Castle Black'. Kiera especially likes that (probably) - it's got style and a certain sense of humor, and it makes her very reluctant to touch any of Morrolan's books. Sethra, naturally, is allowed to borrow them whenever she wants, although her own library's not exactly small either.

Kiera has no need for books, unless it be as a target, or a present for Vlad or someone else in the Organization she needs to owe her a favor. Morrolan probably thinks his collection of Jhereg-books is impressive - it spans well over a dozen bookshelves. Kiera could have told him differently; give her three-hundred Imperials and two weeks, and she'd be able to put together one that's thrice as large and seven times as good. Then again, Kiera is a Jhereg, and Morrolan isn't. It stands to reason that Morrolan wouldn't know that Kivken's Poisons is extremely outdated, and that some of the procedures described in Uglaar's Spells will more often than not result in either your body or the room you're casting the spell in exploding. Probably, he's never read any of these books, and never intends to do so either.

It's just like a Dragonlord to have books in his library that are there only to show off how many of them he's got, Kiera thinks. Kiera doesn't have a library, although she does own a few books, simply because her apartment felt incomplete without them. They're useful books, too - or would be, if she didn't know everything that's in them already.

Another fifteen minutes have gone by when she gets bored with looking at the books, too, and she's beginning to contemplate checking out the Iorich-section (next to the Jhereg one, and possibly another sign of Morrolan having a sense of humor, or else simply an indication that the sections were arranged according to the Cycle, which would mean the Vallista-section ought to be somewhere near as well).

Morrolan's showing up (at last) prevents her from investigating further, and with him arrive refreshments (chilled wine for both of them, and she'd have bet she'd have gotten her wine at room-temperature if she hadn't been a Jhereg, which means Teldra either hasn't told Morrolan who she is, or that she has, and that Morrolan assumes Kiera wants her wine chilled, like Sethra and Vlad, or that he wants to keep up the pretense of her being a Jhereg, whose tastes need not be taken into account). His bow is barely polite, and he sits down stiffly, his body-language telling her he's ready to leave again quickly.

"My lord Morrolan," Kiera says, in that tone of voice she's picked up from Vlad (or was it Kragar?) that manages to make the most respectful form of address sound like a subtle insult. "I'm honored that you agreed to see me."

Morrolan looks like he thinks so, too. Kiera is relieved. Morrolan pulls off a great 'Arrogant Dragonlord' but in general, he's a horrible actor. He's a Dragon, after all. If he'd find out her secret, she'd never be able to meet him again as Kiera.

"I assume you have a reason for calling on me," he says, implying that it had better be a good one.

Kiera makes a bow. She's spent a lot of time practicing that bow - Sethra rarely bows for anyone lower in rank than an Emperor, and on top of that, Kiera needed to be able to bow like a Jhereg. Jhereg bow in the same way they pronounce titles; properly, but with something that hints at mockery. 

"A mutual acquaintance mentioned you might be interested in acquiring a copy of a certain book, my lord." Kiera has debated not bringing Vlad into this, but in the end, his connection to Kiera simply seemed too useful not to use it. She needs Morrolan to trust her, and he already trusts Vlad.

"Indeed?" Morrolan sips his wine. 

"Filaan's Theories About the Practical Application of Tarter's Law of Mutual Denomination and Denunciation During the Interregnum," Kiera provides, sounding like she hasn't even the vaguest idea what half of those words mean. Sethra would - Sethra would also say that both the term 'denomination' and the term 'denunciation' are ill-chosen and that 'during the Interregnum' is as much of a lie as 'practical'. Then again, Sethra'd know Morrolan wants a second copy of the book to make notes and corrections in it without spoiling the copy he already owns. Kiera knows none of those things.

"Your acquaintance has informed you correctly, then," Morrolan says. 

"I happen to have a copy of this book, in excellent state," Kiera says. This part of the conversation is new to her; most of her clients already know what they want - it's the price they argue about, not the wares themselves. She's not used to needing to convince people to hire her, or to buy what she's offering.

Morrolan says nothing, just sips his wine.

Kiera reminds herself she's a Jhereg. "My lord? I have other clients who might well desire to add this book to their collection, were I to make them aware of its availability."

"I have no doubt that you do," Morrolan says. "However, unlike them, I have some reservations about where the books that I acquire come from."

"I assure you that the person who passed it on to me came by it honestly, my lord." Kiera puts a little wounded professional pride in her voice, to say that yes, she knows about Dragonlords and their silly sensitivities. The book, of course, can't be traced back to Sethra - if Morrolan tries to find out where it came from (which he will, Kiera hopes, because she spent weeks setting up the trail), he'll find an impoverished branch of the e'Terics, a young Dragonlord with gambling debts to a Jhereg named Liss and a plundered library containing several more books as rare as Filaan's Theories, if none of them as valuable. Digging further, he might find the name of the bookshop (Argenta's in Adrilankha) where the volume was bought, a little under twelve-hundred years ago.

Morrolan nods, once, almost reluctantly. Kiera bows again and holds out the book, still wrapped in brown paper, the way a Jhereg-bookseller might wrap his wares. If Morrolan is aware of it, he hides it well, merely accepting the package and unwrapping the book. It is, as Kiera's said, in mint condition.

"I am not in the habit of bargaining with thieves," Morrolan says.

Kiera resists pointing out that it's a little late for that now; she knows he's just telling her this conversation is at an end, and that she is not to argue about the amount of money she'll receive for the book. She has expected no less. Morrolan is not the first Dragonlord she has sold a book to, although he's the first one she didn't lie to when claiming she got the book by honest means. Kiera wouldn't have minded the lie, but Sethra might have been a little bothered by it.

"My lord," Kiera bows a third time, and this bow is as respectful as any Jhereg gets. It's the bow reserved for clients, especially clients who are about to pay you a large amount of money.

Of course, Kiera will pass most of that money on to Liss's boss, who'll owe her a favor for taking the book off his hands and finding a buyer for it. The size of her own cut will depend on Morrolan's generosity - Kiera has a reputation to maintain, even if it's common knowledge that nobles don't bargain. She can't keep too much, although keeping too little will damage her reputation as well.

Teldra hands her the purse on her way out, and she estimates that the purse alone would fetch a reasonable price. As she looks inside, she sees that Morrolan (not wholly unexpectedly) has been very generous - her cut will pay the rent for the next six months, as well as dinner for two at Valabar's.

Four months later, she gets a message through the grapevine, informing her someone's been asking questions about a certain book that used to belong to a certain branch of the e'Terics. Morrolan's name isn't mentioned outright. Kiera's pleased at that; it means he employs skilled people.

Six months later, just as she's beginning to wonder, she gets a note from Morrolan, naming several books he's interested in and asking her to keep an eye out for them. One of them's even already in her possession, because she'd rather guessed he'd be wanting it.

Eight months later, Kiera takes Vlad out for dinner at Valabar's, to celebrate a job well done. She doesn't tell him which job, and Morrolan doesn't seem to have told him he's not the only Jhereg who's been invited for a stay at Castle Black anymore, which is all fine with Kiera.

She doesn't want Vlad to know too much about her - he needs a surprise every now and then to keep him sharp as much as she does.


End file.
